Email marketing has been forgotten by many Small Business Marketers because it has just been “done to death”. For most of our clients, email is still a viable marketing medium, and I wanted to take a moment to explain some of the positives of email marketing, and share a few things that have been done, but still bring results.
2 Reasons that you should continue your email marketing campaigns:
Email has a strong ROI.
According to eMarketer, email marketing campaigns enjoy a median ROI of 122 percent, which exceeds social media, direct mail, and paid search by a large margin. Email is still my favorite medium of communication, and it allows marketers to reach a focused market in their favorite way of communicating. This does not work for all products and target markets, but the majority of our clients get strong returns from email campaigns.
Email Marketing Platforms have raised their game.
Email templates are now mobile responsive allowing them to adapt to the device they’re being viewed on. You can add all kinds of content like surveys, contests and other means of increasing engagement within a professional looking email template without having to be a programmer or website designer.
2 Tips for Success:
Focus on a Specific Target-Content and List
Talk to a focused group of customers about what is valuable to them. Segment by vertical, job title, geographic location, gender, etc and give that specific target market the information that they want and need. This will build trust and loyalty and make your emails relevant to those you target. Remember, your customers, like you, are getting more and more email every day. Make it count!
Mobile is important.
Mobile friendly is not just a responsive template any more. Every bit of content needs to be mobile friendly and cross browser tested before it goes out the door. Mobile use is growing, and it is not just for kids anymore. Can you imagine attempting to manage all of the information that you see in a day without using a smart phone?
We have all seen the the trends come and go, and some of the new stuff is truly exciting and awesome, but email needs to be considered as part of each and every digital campaign.
Eric Van Cleave is CEO of Zenergy Works and zentiv agency in Santa Rosa California.